Rules Changes for 2022

[blackemporiummod]

We are thrilled that everyone is so excited for this year’s exchange! This year there will be two rules changes which will include new fields in your sign-up.

We are adding a RATINGS field for the rating of work you would like to give/receive (based on Ao3′s ratings of General, Teen and Up, Mature, and Explicit), and a TREATS field (labeled as ‘Character’) to indicate what kind of treats, if any, you are open to receiving for your requested relationships.

With the additions of the RATINGS field, we would like to state that while anyone is allowed to participate in the Black Emporium Exchange, gifts rated Mature or Explicit are only suitable for participants 18+. That means if you are under 18, you cannot request, offer, nor create any pairing with a rating at Mature or Explicit levels.

For the safety of all, we are not asking participants to disclose their age nor will we "investigate" anyone. However, should we learn of someone breaking this rule, that participant will be quietly and privately disciplined, up to and including a permanent ban. We thank you for your understanding.

More details about the specific rule changes under the cut.

The RATING field allows you to specify what Ao3 rating you would like to give/receive.  

The four ratings are:

• General Audiences - suitable for someone of any age. no violence and/or sexual content (The "G/PG" of ratings)
• Teen and Up Audiences - some adult language, and referenced adult themes such as sex and violence is okay. (the "PG-13" of ratings)
• Mature - More inclusion of onscreen implicit violence & sex, and adult/darker subject matter. But not explicit gore nor sexual content. (The "R" of ratings)
• Explicit- Explicit, on screen heavy violence & gore, and explicitly written sexual acts or nudity in art (The "NC-17" of ratings)

If you're not sure where your boundary lies, we would encourage you to err on the side of caution. You may also browse past Black Emporium works to see what past participants have done.

The TREATS field will be labeled as "character" since Ao3 has a limited number of fields that we can use for sign-ups. This field is REQUIRED so that prospective treaters can see whether or not you are open to the treat they have in mind, but it will not be used in the matching process.

The options are:

• No Treats: you do not want to have a treat created for you, for this relationship
• Fic Treats: you are open to receiving a fic treat for this relationship
• Art Treats: you are open to receiving an art treat for this relationship
• Multi-Recip Fic Treats: you are open to receiving a fic treat that will be gifted to more than one person requesting this relationship
• Multi-Recip Art Treats: you are open to receiving an art treat that will be gifted to more than one person requesting this relationship
  

You do not have to select the same treat option for all your requests, but keep in mind that whatever option you select will go for all the relationships in that request field (if you are entering more than one).

Ao3 recently introduced the ability to block gifts from users other than your assigned creator. This means that if you want to be able to receive treats, you need to ensure that the following option is enabled.

To do so, go to "My Dashboard" on your Ao3 account, select "Preferences" from the sidebar, scroll down to "Collections, Challenges and Gifts," and make sure that the "Allow Anyone to Gift Me Works" box is checked.